In refrigeration systems of various designs, a refrigeration medium (refrigerant) is typically utilized. For instance, some systems may utilize a refrigerant such as liquid ammonia as a non-limiting example. In the use of such refrigerants, certain foul or foreign gases, such as ambient air, and the like, find their way into, and accumulate within such systems after a period of use and through a variety of manners. For instance, opening the system to conduct maintenance or repairs may result in such contamination of the system. The collection of these foul gases considerably reduces the cooling capacity of the refrigeration system, over time, and it has long been known that it is desirable to purge such non-condensable gases from a refrigeration system to maximize the cooling efficiency of the same.
Various purging arrangements and systems have been suggested and taught in various prior art references, and have been used, to some degree, to eliminate these non-condensable gases.
Notwithstanding the prior art practices and devices utilized, heretofore, to purge these undesirable, non-condensable gases from a refrigeration system, the results that have been achieved have not entirely been satisfactory. Furthermore, depending upon the nature of the refrigeration system and the extent of its utilization, purging may have to occur on a rather regular and/or frequent cycle. Often the time periods between these purging cycles may vary based upon the refrigeration load experienced by the refrigeration system. Therefore, while existing purging systems have operated with some degree of success, numerous shortcomings have resulted from their continued practice, and designers of such refrigeration systems have searched for improved means by which purging may be accomplished with further less complicated means than what have been proposed heretofore, and which further can be reliably conducted on a periodic basis and in a manner not possible utilizing the devices which have been employed and described in the art for decades.
A purging apparatus, for use with a refrigeration system, that is useful in removing non-condensable gases from a refrigeration system is the subject matter of the present disclosure.